2021 October 13

Daily news wrap-up

News - Oct/13/2021: UN energy expert about the planned construction of new nuclear plant in Armenia __ Standard & Poor's positive outlook for govt's reform plans __ Authorities carry out mass COVID raids; 700 fake vax cards __ Constitutional Court __ India & Armenia to develop trade route __ other
by ar_david_hh

---

Your 15-minute Wednesday report in 3629 words.

Standard & Poor’s expects 6.3% GDP growth this year

The report says: The economic recovery is gaining momentum after last year's recession and war. The growth will come from exports and private consumption.

The investments will play a key role in the coming 2 years. For example, through government investment in transport infrastructure.

Armenia has weathered the impact of the pandemic and war without jeopardizing economic stability, partly due to credible fiscal and monetary policies.

There are some risks. Armenia has strong trade links with Russia. That's also where a large share of remittances come from. The transmission decreased in the wake of the pandemic.

>[The government won reelection in June.] This should enable authorities to pursue their ambitious reform agenda, which aims to improve the business environment, raise investments, reduce poverty, and address structural impediments to higher growth. Armenia’s standby arrangement with the IMF will remain an anchor for near-term structural reforms. At the same time, the government has already improved governance and institutional efficiency since coming into office in 2018.

More: http://arka.am/en/news/economy/standard_poor_s_global_ratings_expects_armenia_s_real_gdp_growth_of_6_3_in_2021/

Standard & Poor's has assigned a credit rating to the Armenian government for the first time ever

B+ long-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to Armenia. At the same time, the agency assigned its 'B' short-term foreign- and local currency ratings. The outlook is positive. S&P also assigned its 'BB-' transfer and convertibility assessment to Armenia.

>The positive outlook reflects Armenia's prospects for a continued rapid economic expansion over the next two-to-three years

>Our ratings on Armenia are constrained by evolving institutional settings, low income levels, high external indebtedness, and sizable external financing needs.

https://www.1lurer.am/en/2021/10/13/Sovereign-rating-to-Armenia%E2%80%99s-Government-with-a-%E2%80%98positive%E2%80%99-perspective/576048

Standard & Poor’s: Armenian government’s general debt to decrease to 48% by 2024 from 53% in 2021

>the swift reduction is because of exchange rate movements: the domestic currency, the Armenian dram, has appreciated notably following depreciation at the beginning of the year and almost three-quarters of government debt outstanding is denominated in [dollar]

>The rating agency also notes Armenia’s strong capital market access, demonstrated by a $750 million 10-year Eurobond issued at a low 3.6% in February 2021 despite heightened political uncertainty.

More: http://www.armbanks.am/en/2021/10/13/135869/

COVID stats

8497 tested. 1217 infected. 521 healed. 28 deaths. 17624 active.

Armenia is approaching EU's "dark red" zone amid COVID wave

Armenia is currently in the red zone with 475 infections per 100,000 people. A dark red zone is 500 and above.

Persons traveling from dark red areas could be required to do a test before departure, quarantine after arrival, etc.

PCR-or-vaccine work requirement won't apply to residents who recently recovered from COVID

The exemption lasts 3 months.

infection among children rose 1.5-1.7 times

Young people, in general, are getting sick more often these days, specifically the 30-50 age group. It doesn't help that many people stay home instead of seeking medical care; they get hospitalized when the lungs are already damaged.

authorities launch a massive crackdown on fake COVID certificates; 700 people busted

National Security Services are helping the police to find dishonest doctors and officials who illegally add unvaccinated peoples' names to the database of vaccinated.

They found 700 instances in which people were added to the database so they could bypass travel restrictions abroad and the sanitary requirements in Armenia.

In some cases, the dishonest doctors took $10-$20 bribes for the fake certificate. Dozens of raids were carried out; bribe sums were found. A list of clients who purchased the fake certificates was also found. [U GOING TO JAIL BOI]

Six doctors have confessed to the crimes and rat out their client names. [DEFINITELY GOING TO JAIL, BOI]

hospitals ran out of beds

300 people were waiting for a bed as of yesterday. This isn't just about having only 2,600 beds, it's about having a limited number of doctors and nurses who can treat you, said the Healthcare Minister, adding that vaccines can prevent all this.

the government is discussing possible restrictions in public areas unless COVID numbers drop

A bill is being discussed that could require cafe/restaurant/public facility visitors to either get vaccinated or submit a PCR result.

three countries haven't even launched the vaccination campaign

They are Brunei, Eritrea, and Best Korea.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065444.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065466.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065504.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065465.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065511.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065506.html https://youtu.be/Od6HukeaTMo https://factor.am/427663.html https://factor.am/427770.html

some moron tried to rob a hospital

A resident of Artik went to the local hospital, pretending to be sick. When the ambulance nurses and receptionists approached, he used a knife to demand everyone to hand over their money and cell phones.

One of the nurses left to "bring other doctors" but altered the cops instead. The moron was arrested at the scene. [HOOK HIM UP TO VENTILATOR]

https://factor.am/427635.html

army conducted artillery exercises

Locate and target.

https://factor.am/427848.html

Mher Shirinyan is appointed as the head of the army's armament department

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/222986==

Artsakh army denied opening fire at an Azeri military vehicle that was accompanying a non-military convoy

The Azeri side spread misinformation, said the Artsakh Defense Army.

https://factor.am/427983.html

Constitutional Court "upholds" recent laws that reform the judicial system

President Sarkissian saw several problems with the reforms approved by Parliament in March. He challenged it but the highest court rejected his petition.

1) The reforms will expand the Supreme Court's authority over judges, and allow them to hear ethics complaints filed by trial participants if there were concerns about the judge's ethics. Currently, such ethics proceedings are only initiated by the Justice Ministry, Supreme Court itself, and various anti-corruption agencies.

2) The law envisages a certain internal specialization [special anti-corruption courts] of judges based on the complexity of cases. Sarkissian had concerns that this can lead to the creation of "elite" judges within the system, which could automatically lower the trust towards "non-elite" judges in the eye of the public.

3) The law also punishes trial participants if they repeatedly abuse their "rights" to harm the other party. The topic was raised after Robert Kocharyan's defense team delayed his March 1st trial for years, by using various delaying tactics. The March 1st victims and prosecutors had complained that their rights were being violated.

https://news.am/arm/news/667206.html https://armeniasputnik.am/20211012/sdy-merzhel-e-nakhagahi-dimumy-datakan-orensgrqi-sahmanadrakanutjan-veraberjal-34226359.html https://iravaban.net/353329.html

Iran's general prosecutor held meetings with Armenian officials

... including Premier Pashinyan. The latter welcomed the guest to Armenia and discussed AM-IR cooperation in the fields of economy, justice, protecting Iranian prison inmates' rights in Armenia, etc.

Iran prosecutor: Iran will not allow the deployment of terrorists and forces that provoke a war on its borders.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065443.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065478.html https://factor.am/427828.html https://factor.am/427834.html

Armenia appoints new Ambassador to Iran

Arsen Avagyan will replace Artashes Tumanyan.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065493.html

Iran is pressuring Azerbaijan to release the two Iranian truck drivers who were taken hostage last month

The incident happened on the Azeri side of the Syunik road, and led to a diplomatic crisis between Iran and Azerbaijan. The MFAs held a discussion today. Iranian Mehr outlet later claimed that Azerbaijan agreed to release the drivers, but Azeris denied the report.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065521.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065525.html

VIDEO: church leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan held a meeting in Moscow

They discussed the conflict and humanitarian topics. The Russian patriarch condemned any attempts to tie religion to the conflict, saying religion should not be used to promote a hateful and violent agenda.

https://youtu.be/ilJ0Y6wAAzI https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065481.html

PHOTOS: Indian MFA is in Armenia, visited the Tsitsernakaberd genocide memorial

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065448.html

PHOTOS: Indian and Armenian MFAs visited the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Yerevan, and planted trees

https://factor.am/427785.html

MFA Mirzoyan: we appreciate India's statement in May about the need for Azeri troops to leave Armenian territories

Mirzoyan: India, as the world's largest democracy, a large and rapidly developing economy, a peace-promoting state, can contribute to stability and development in the South Caucasus.

Our positions are the same when it comes to combatting terrorism, extremism, and the transfer of hired mercenaries to conflict zones. //

MFA Mirzoyan: we've agreed on a number of specific programs with India

Mirzoyan: Armenia and India will expand cooperation in various areas. My colleague's visit to Armenia testifies to the ever-expanding and deepening AM-IN relations.

MFA Jaishankar: we support the peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group framework

Jaishankar: last year was very difficult for Armenia. Please accept our condolences on behalf of the Indian people. My first visit to Armenia marks the beginning of a new phase in AM-IN relations. [talks about the contributions of the Armenian community in India]

We had a very effective meeting with MFA Mirzoyan. We agreed to expand cooperation in various areas, including political and cultural. //

Indian MFA suggested using Iran's Chabahar port as a hub for the North-South trade corridor

MFA Jaishankar: Armenia expressed interest in using Iran's Chabahar port. We developed a plan. It was suggested to use the port as an international transit hub.

MFA Mirzoyan: I hope that in the near future we will have an agreement with India on the Persian Gulf-Black Sea trade route. Both of us are interested. We discussed the recent positive developments around it. We also discussed connecting Armenia to Russia or the EU via Georgia.

MFA Jaishankar: you saw the damage done to EU-Asia trade when a single ship blocked the Suez canal. India wants to have multiple alternative routes, and Armenia can play a role here.

Pashinyan hosted Indian MFA

Pashinyan: to be honest, I'm very surprised that you are the first-ever Indian Foreign Minister to visit Armenia. Maybe it's a sign that we have a lot of work to do together. I remember our recent meeting in Dushanbe; our MFA said that our states have a very big unrealized potential. We have to fill in the gaps. Armenia has a clear plan for AM-IN cooperation. I spoke about this with Premier Modi in 2019 but then the COVID came. Once again, welcome to Armenia.

MFA Jaishankar: greetings from Premier Modi. He remembers the 2019 meeting and gives great importance to that visit. To be honest, I'm just as surprised that I'm the first Indian MFA to visit Armenia. I learned about this during the recent Dushahnbe meeting with MFA Mirzoyan.

MFA Ayvazyan: Armenia supports India's bid for permanent UN Security Council membership

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065446.html https://youtu.be/Od6HukeaTMo https://youtu.be/vLwq-bU_0kU https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065449.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065451.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065456.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065503.html https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/222972

Infrastructure Minister: the new 43km Goris-Kapan road in Syunik province will be ready this year; construction began last year

This is the one that will serve as an alternative to the problematic eastern road that passes through the AM-AZ border.

Minister: the Tatev-Aghvan road will bypass M2's Goris-Kapan road by the end of this year. We allocated ֏5.25 billion for this 43km section.

12.5km renovation was launched in 2020 and has already finished.

17.5km renovation began in summer 2021 and is scheduled to finish this year.

Another 13km, which also began this summer, is in the final phase. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065485.html

Tags: #SyunikRoad #TatevRoad

the main road is being asphalted in village Tsovak (Gegharkunik)

Mayor: for decades, we didn't have enough subsidies to renovate the poor intra-community roads. In general, due to the reconstruction of the 11km road in Tsovak-Lchavan-Makenis-Akhpadzor, agriculture and tourism will develop in our settlements.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065475.html

dangerous asbestos water pipes are being replaced with modern ones in village Gegharkunik (Gegharkunik)

Half of the pipes will be replaced for now. They were installed in the mid-20th century. The rest will be replaced soon and a new water regulator station will be built.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065476.html

VIDEO: the rare female leopard "Nova" has returned to Ararat province, spotted by night cams

https://youtu.be/bYuWk-ih7jg

ChessMood international chess tournament was held in Tsakhkadzor resort town

Hundreds of players from a dozen states had arrived. Group A was won by a Russian player, Group B by an Armenian.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065488.html

world chess championship was organized for prisoners

Justice Minister and famous grandmasters met the Armenian inmates to mark the opening ceremony of the online chess tournament. This is a unique example of socialization and reintegration through chess, said the Minister.

Inmate serving life sentence: I won the Armenian championship recently so I was invited to participate in the world tournament.

Q: do you expect any encouragements or benefits from the penitentiary system?

Inmate: we received benefits after the Armenian championship. We're aiming for victory right now, not benefits.

Grandmaster Smbat Lputyan: this is a big day in chess. This is the first chess championship among prisoners. FIDE gives great importance to it.

More: https://factor.am/427574.html https://youtu.be/LntJy9MzMsM https://factor.am/427601.html https://factor.am/427597.html https://youtu.be/YVqcxeIrV3g

Armenia will host the 2022 European boxing championship, "unprecedented for Armenia"

Deputy Education Minister Giloyan: such a large event has never been held in Armenia, not even during USSR. Our boxing federation and Ministry worked hard on this.

AIBA official was invited to Armenia to learn about the infrastructure. It'll be held in the Hamalir complex on May 12-31. We expect teams from 40 countries.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065502.html

concert dedicated to Alexander Spendaryan and Arno Babajanyan will be held in London

St. Cuthbert church on 7:00 pm Saturday.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1065455.html

Kim Kardashian on Instagram: Happy Birthday to my Armenian brother Erik Israelyan.

https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/222965

interview with UN energy expert Ara Marjanyan about the construction of a new nuclear plant, renewables, and gas market

Context about new copper smelter and nuclear plant in October 4 post.

Reporter: after the nationalization of 15% of the Zangezur copper plant, Premier Pashinyan and GeoProMining announced the planned construction of a new NPP. Some believe it will be a small NPP that will help generate enough power for the new copper smelter.

Marjanyan: this move marks the beginning of the actual "revolution". Establishing fair policies in the mining industry was truly revolutionary. We will see what steps are taken by the government to improve the management of the Zangezur plant.

As for the construction of the new NPP, it should be viewed as part of the government's plan to turn Armenia into an industrial state. The High-Tech Minister recently gave an interview and announced the launch of a new industrialization period for Armenia, which will obviously require larger and stable electricity supplies.

Reporter: the current NPP might operate until 2036. When will the new one be ready?

Marjanyan: it doesn't depend on GeoProMining or others. Armenia has an official document about its strategic goals with four pillars, with one of them being the constant development of nuclear energy in Armenia. That means using the current NPP for as long as possible and retiring it when the new NPP is ready. It ensures nuclear continuity.

Currently, we're modernizing the Metsamor NPP. It appears to be successful. Within days, we will hear official statements that Metsamor can operate safely until 2026. Another modernization cycle can extend it by another 10 days, until 2036. This isn't a unique process. Several Russian NPPs, including one that is the exact copy of the Metsamor reactor, have gone through this renovation process.

There is a significant chance that Metsamor will work until 2036, but sooner or later it has to retire. To build a new NPP, we need up to 2 years of preparatory and 7 years of construction work. The whole process will take 10 years.

Armenia needs to find answers to several questions before building it. Should the new one be located in Metsamor, or find another location? What will be the type and parameters of the new NPP: the power, reactor tech, etc. The answers must be found within the next 1-2 years before launching the construction.

Reporter: are they currently trying to find the answers to those questions? At one point, there were talks about having a less powerful "modular" NPP. Others preferred a big one.

Marjanyan: unfortunately works have not begun yet around these topics. Various expert groups are independently discussing it but it's not a concerted effort yet. We need to start soon and respect these deadlines [2036] because Armenia has a record of failing to meet deadlines.

Reporter: you said the preparatory works must begin next year. That includes the investments. There are talks about $3-5 billion. Is this in the government's 5-year plan?

Marjanyan: the new NPP was spoken about at the highest levels, during the meeting between Pashinyan and Putin. Before that, the deputy Ministers discussed it. Armenia's long-term strategic development roadmap I mentioned earlier is active, and NPP is part of it. It's not explicitly written in the upcoming 5-year program. We should expect to see it in the 2022-2023 program. There should be a group dedicated exclusively to NPP, reporting to the Deputy Premier.

Reporter: renewable energy has been promoted in Armenia for years but the ongoing energy crisis in Europe is cited as an example of what can happen when you neglect investments in the non-renewable sector. Can Armenia rely on renewables instead of nuclear?

Marjanyan: I've been an expert in renewables for decades and worked in the U.S. Renewables can play a very important role in Armenia, however, when I was working in the U.S. in the early 1990s, I learned that expert circles never referred to it as an alternative/substitute energy.

Reporter: so renewables are not a replacement, it's just a branch that we can develop simultaneously?

Marjanyan: unfortunately Armenians began referring to renewables as alternative/substitute energy because of Russian language influence. This made the non-experts believe that it's a "replacement". In some countries, this led to the development of unrealistic expectations, which in turn led to wrong political decisions and led to today's European or Brazilian crisis.

Renewable energy is very interesting and important. It just isn't a substitute for the base energy sector. The base energy sector must guarantee its power 24/7/365. This is impossible with hydro/wind/solar. Only geothermal can achieve this among the renewables, but Armenia doesn't have geysers - Iceland and Russia's Kamchatka do.

Reporter: we can't ignore gas while discussing energy. We see the high prices in Europe. Russian Gazprom chief Alexei Miller recently visited Armenia. We don't know for sure what was negotiated but Parliamentary Q&A revealed that the gas price is on the agenda. What impact can the EU prices have on Armenia?

Marjanyan: the gas intrigues of the past decades are mainly about short-term spot pricing [market] versus long-term contract pricing. For example, Russia preferred to sell it with long-term contracts while the consumers [EU] wanted the market to decide.

What's been happening in the past month is nothing new, by the way. All of this shows that long-term contracts are beneficial for both seller and consumer because it's predictable and creates a calmer situation.

But the whole intrigue is that sellers like Russia prefer to use long-term contracts not only as an economic tool but also as a geopolitical one. They want to use it to exert soft power to dictate political developments.

All this should be reviewed and the right decisions must be made. In the case of German-Russian relations, when Germany made an energy u-turn and rejected nuclear and coal, they became extremely sensitive to gas imports. They found themselves in a very serious dependence on Russia.

Today, Germany is forced to increase its coal(?) use, which is barbarism from the "green" perspective. The same about Poland and India. They resumed one of their suspended coal factories. Poland has to pay a daily €5 million fine for using its coal plant.

There should be long-term and well-thought-out decisions in the energy sector to prevent geopolitical and social consequences. For Armenia, I think it needs to reaffirm the long-term gas policy with Russia. It's beneficial for both states. Armenia should insist, and I think Russia will agree, for the AM-RU cooperation to fall under the context of EAEU's unified energy market. There appears to be an agreement there.

The disputed part is how the gas transfer expenditures should impact the final gas price. I think they will find solutions. I can't guess how much the Russian gas will cost for Armenia in the future but it has to be mutually beneficial under the context of strategic partnership. It has to be cheaper than the price for non-strategic-partners. There is a chance that the price will increase soon, but it won't be critical. //

https://www.civilnet.am/news/635838/կառավարությունն-արդեն-պետք-է-սկսի-նոր-ատոմակայանի-նախագծումը-զրույց-փորձագետի-հետ/

Tags: #nuclear #NPP #renewables

VIDEO: electric vehicles are gaining popularity in Armenia

Alen Malakyan: I was researching something four years ago when I came across EVs. It interested me after watching a few clips. The only problem is the long-distance travel because we live in Mughni (near Ashtarak, 11 miles from Yerevan). I figured this particular EV model will do it, so we ordered it from Japan. //

Alen loves electronics, the environment, and 8-10x savings compared to fuel vehicles [needs a fact check Alen jan DON'T GET SWINDLED BY TREE-HUGGING LIBTARDS (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻) ].

Alen continues: some people can't get used to the fact that they have to keep an eye on their daily journey and calculate the distance, but if you can afford it, you can buy the new EVs with 350km distance. Tesla has it. //

Karen Derdzyan also owns an EV. There were difficulties with charging so he created www.plug.am that lists the 25 free charging stations available across Armenia. The website shows Level-2 medium-speed chargers. These can take 2-10 hours to charge, depending on battery size.

Karen Derdzyan: we realized that having more charging stations will lead to more EV purchases, so we asked donor firms to finance the creation of plug.am. The UN helped us. Electric vehicles have thousands of fewer parts, fewer things to repair, and last longer. They reduce noise pollution and emissions. //

Legal reforms recently eliminated VAT and import taxes on EV imports to help promote them. Discussions are being held to extend the incentives for three more years. EV drivers don't have to pay to park in "red line" areas, after submitting paperwork.

https://youtu.be/LyLr4kNc4r4 https://www.civilnet.am/news/635820/ինչու-էլեկտրամոբիլ․-առավելությունները-և-հեռանկարները-հայաստանում/

end of report

The accused are innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law, even if they "appear" guilty.

News archive: http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Daily_Anti-Corruption_Reports

Donations: soldiers' families, humanitarian aid, US tax-deductible donation.

---

Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/q7i8wv/news_oct132021_un_energy_expert_about_the_planned/